Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $144.36.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on QLYS. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Qualys in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Qualys from $145.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $941,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 225,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,321,173.97. The trade was a 3.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 882 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.66, for a total transaction of $123,180.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 62,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,700,119.70. This represents a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,122 shares of company stock valued at $3,484,692. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Qualys during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Qualys during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in Qualys by 88.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 333 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Qualys in the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Qualys by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 391 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. 99.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Qualys Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS opened at $125.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.04 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.15. Qualys has a 1 year low of $112.61 and a 1 year high of $174.20.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a return on equity of 38.52% and a net margin of 28.59%. Equities research analysts expect that Qualys will post 3.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Qualys

Qualys, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud-based platform delivering information technology (IT), security, and compliance solutions in the United States and internationally. It offers Qualys Cloud Apps, which include Cybersecurity Asset Management and External Attack Surface Management; Vulnerability Management, Detection and Response; Web Application Scanning; Patch Management; Custom Assessment and Remediation; Multi-Vector Endpoint Detection and Response; Context Extended Detection and Response; Policy Compliance; File Integrity Monitoring; and Qualys TotalCloud, as well as Cloud Workload Protection, Cloud Detection and Response, Cloud Security Posture Management, Infrastructure as Code, and Container Security.